3 tips to get ready for change
As previously discussed in my blog “Why do we struggle with change?”, “change readiness” is not a skill but a habit. So what can you, as an individual, do to increase your capacity for adaptation and transformation? Here are my top 3 tips:
1. Stop an old habit
Adaptations work like this: chuck out DNA that’s no longer needed in order to make space for chromosomes that help a species to thrive in new environments; likewise, in order to have capacity for a new practice, you must stop an old one; for example, after listening to Tim Ferriss about 3 weeks ago, I have stopped reading online news almost completely because I realized it occupied me for 60-90 minutes each day. Instead of consuming content, I now have the time, focus and energy to blog. The thing is, I didn’t intend to use the gained time this way, it just happened, seemingly accidentally, and now I am keen to make it a new habit.
2. Hack your routines
Start disrupting your most mundane daily habits: choose a different way or mode of transport to work, sleep with your head at the foot end of the bed, browse the newsagent for a magazine you would never read (but that’s interesting enough to explore for an hour), swap your iPod or playlist with someone for a week, spend a day hot-desking in another department, and so on; the intention is to get inspired by something new, and to notice how you feel when this happens. These hacks are a sure shot at instantly becoming more change ready – I’ll buy you a drink if nothing comes from it!
3. Let go
This may be pushing it for some of you, but I wholeheartedly recommend you go to a restorative or yin yoga class, and learn how to surrender into poses you’ll find deeply uncomfortable to hold for 5-8 minutes both physically and mentally. You can’t ‘do’ those poses by controlling your fear, you need to ‘become’ them by letting go of your fear; I always feel more open to new things for a few days afterwards, and seem to display less ego. Egos don’t like change…
Summing up, change starts with you and you need to demonstrate your own capacity for change before you have any credibility to ask others to be ready for change.